EAST COAST COLLEGES SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2020
Position Statement on the Murder of George Floyd and the Current Climate on Race and Racism in America
During the most historic crisis and COVID-19 pandemic in America that has killed more than 7,401,682* people in the world and 1,988,646* in the US, we have another major environmental pandemic that has emerged and it is that of genocide and racism. The East Coast Colleges Social Science Association (ECCSSA) explicitly condemns individual, group, and systemic racism and oppression, and the violent act that took the life of George Floyd—and so many before him. We stand united as an organization against racism and oppression of any kind directed toward any human person and specifically toward African Americans, who seem to be a target, and other people of color in the United States of America and the world. It is people of color who comprise the majority population in the world. We support all individuals, families, and professionals, as ECCSSA is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all. We condemn oppression, prejudice, discrimination, and racism in all its forms and on all levels. We stand with the many individuals and families who have been impacted tragically as well as those marching for the justice of others. We support all who are protecting and fighting for truth, justice, respect, freedom, and peace through nonviolent actions. We aim toward lifting every individual in society to make this a better place for all to reside, including the future lives of our children where they can thrive and flourish and live without fear. ECCSSA also stands with our constituent members, associates, and all individuals everywhere who are distressed, saddened, angry, and calling for change, equity, and freedom to exist, thrive, and flourish. Every citizen and every human being have that right. We pledge to always reject systemic discrimination and racism that exists in our communities, professions, schools, institutions of higher learning, and in our workplaces. We also reject violence, abuse, degradation, and marginalization of any kind. We know that many ECCSSA associates either work or provide services in settings and educational institutions with pervasive histories of institutional and systemic racism. We stand by each of you. The time has come for us to recognize our collective contributions to maintaining the status quo versus our responsibility to reimagine and create transformational change toward building a better and more peaceful and thriving world for all. This includes freedom, mutual respect, a moral compass, and security. This also includes building a global community, free of violence and chaos. We must work harder to promote diversity and to identify meaningful solutions that address the challenges facing African Americans and other people of color today in the 21st century; and, to enable every person to be heard, feel safe, flourish and thrive. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental rights that we value and uphold.ECCSSA has a long historical record of addressing some of the most critical issues related to improving the quality of life for individuals, society, nations, and the world. We are constantly seeking solutions and models for improvement, sustainability, and for building a better future world. It is our mission to work toward improving the quality of human life through dialogue, research, and advocacy. Toward this end, ECCSSA is committed to continuing the dialogue and outlining strategic steps to help society understand the origins of race, and eradicate racism, discrimination, hatred, violence, bigotry, and ignorance. We continue our mission of more than 46 years. Toward this end, prior to the devastating events of the last 2 weeks, ECCSSA had already officially announced its theme for the 47th Annual Conference: “Defining and Confronting the Challenges of Race, Racism, and Inequality in the 21st Century: A State of the Art Assessment,” to be held April 1-2, 2022. We hope you will join us in dialogue as we develop strategies toward solutions to eradicate Racism in America. Your input, dialogue, and ideas toward defining and outlining a concrete and workable set of strategies for implementation would be extremely important and valuable. We look forward to your proposal.
*As of June 12, 2020
Board of Directors, ECCSSA
ECCSSA is an association of professional social and behavioral scientists, scientists, and related professionals devoted to advancing research, practice, knowledge, and understanding in the social and behavioral sciences for the progression of humankind.
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